I have always liked to finish a nice meal with a dessert of some kind - a snifter of brandy, something chocolate or ice cream. A Brandy Alexander combines all three; recipe follows:
Brandy Alexander*
Ingredients
1 pint vanilla ice cream**
2 oz. Crème de Cacao (dark)
1 oz. brandy
Preparation
Place ice cream in a blender***
Add liquor and brandy
Pulse until desired consistency is reached****
Pour into snifters or glasses and enjoy!
* The original Alexander was made with Gin. See my FOOD HISTORY post about the origin of Brandy Alexander.
**I use Hagen Daz but any premium brand will do.
*** A blender is better but a food processor will do.
**** You can mix until smooth or leave some pieces of solid ice cream intact. I prefer the latter because it gives a better mouth feel textural contrast.
You can adjust the amounts of Crème de Cacao and/or Brandy to make the drinkable dessert to your own taste. Further, you can make your drinkable dessert from other ingredients. Some examples follow but let your imagination devise one that fits your particular taste.
Coffee: Kahlua or Tia Maria; coffee ice cream; Brandy
Mocha: Kahlua or Tia Maria; chocolate ice cream; Brandy
Almond: Amaretto; vanilla/chocolate ice cream; Brandy
Orange: Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Triple Sec; vanilla/chocolate ice cream; Brandy
Banana: Crème de Banana, vanilla/chocolate ice cream; Brandy
